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PRIVACY POLICY

We respect our legal obligation to keep health information that
identifies you private. We are obligated by law to give you
notice of our privacy practices. This Notice describes how
we protect your health information and what rights you have regarding
it.

TREATMENT, PAYMENT, AND HEALTH CARE OPERATIONS

The most common reason why we use or disclose your health information
is for treatment, payment or health care operations. Examples of
how we use or disclose information for treatment purposes are: setting
up an appointment for you; testing or examining your eyes; prescribing
glasses, contact lenses, or eye medications and faxing them to be
filled; showing you low vision aids; referring you to another doctor
or clinic for eye care or low vision aids or services; or getting
copies of your health information from another professional that
you may have seen before us. Examples of how we use or disclose
your health information for payment purposes are: asking you about
your health or vision care plans, or other sources of payment; preparing
and sending bills or claims; and collecting unpaid amounts (either
ourselves or through a collection agency or attorney). “Health care
operations” mean those administrative and managerial functions that
we have to do in order to run our office. Examples of how we use
or disclose your health information for health care operations are:
financial or billing audits; internal quality assurance; personnel
decisions; participation in managed care plans; defense of legal
matters; business planning; and outside storage of our records.

We routinely use your health information inside our office for
these purposes without any special permission. If we need to disclose
your health information outside of our office for these reasons,
we usually will not ask you for special written permission.

DISCLOSURES FOR OTHER REASONS WITHOUT PERMISSION

In some limited situations, the law allows or requires us to
use or disclose your health information without your permission.
Not all of these situations will apply to us; some may never come
up at our office at all. Such uses or disclosures are:

when a state or federal law mandates that certain health
information be reported for a specific purpose;

for public health purposes, such as contagious disease reporting,
investigation or surveillance; and notices to and from the federal
Food and Drug Administration regarding drugs or medical devices;

disclosures to governmental authorities about victims of
suspected abuse, neglect or domestic violence;

uses and disclosures for health oversight activities, such
as for the licensing of doctors; for audits by Medicare or Medicaid;

or for investigation of possible violations of health care
laws;

disclosures for judicial and administrative proceedings,
such as in response to subpoenas or orders of courts or administrative
agencies;

disclosures for law enforcement purposes, such as to provide
information about someone who is or is suspected to be a victim
of a crime; to provide information about a crime at our office;
or to report a crime that happened somewhere else;

disclosure to a medical examiner to identify a dead person
or to determine the cause of death; or to funeral directors
to aid in burial; or to organizations that handle organ or tissue
donations;

uses or disclosures for health related research;

uses and disclosures to prevent a serious threat to health
or safety;

uses or disclosures for specialized government functions,
such as

for the protection of the president or high ranking
government officials;

for lawful national intelligence activities;

for military purposes;

or for the evaluation and health of members of the foreign
service

disclosures of de-identified information;

disclosures relating to worker’s compensation programs;

disclosures of a “limited data set” for research, public
health, or health care operations;

incidental disclosures that are an unavoidable by-product
of permitted uses or disclosures;

disclosures to “business associates” who perform health
care operations for us and who commit to respect the privacy
of your health information;

Unless you object, we will also share relevant information
about your care with your family or friends who are helping
you with your eye care.

APPOINTMENT REMINDERS

We may call or write to remind you of scheduled appointments,
or that it is time to make a routine appointment. We may also call
or write to notify you of other treatments or services available
at our office that might help you. Unless you tell us otherwise,
we will mail you an appointment reminder on a post card, and/or
leave you a reminder message on your home answering machine or with
someone who answers your phone if you are not home.

OTHER USES AND DISCLOSURES

We will not make any other uses or disclosures of your health
information unless you sign a written “authorization form.” The
content of an “authorization form” is determined by federal law.
Sometimes, we may initiate the authorization process if the use
or disclosure is our idea. Sometimes, you may initiate the process
if it’s your idea for us to send your information to someone else.
Typically, in this situation you will give us a properly completed
authorization form, or you can use one of ours.

If we initiate the process and ask you to sign an authorization
form, you do not have to sign it. If you do not sign the authorization,
we cannot make the use or disclosure. If you do sign one, you may
revoke it at any time unless we have already acted in reliance upon
it. Revocations must be in writing. Send them to the office contact
person named at the beginning of this Notice.

YOUR RIGHTS REGARDING YOUR HEALTH INFORMATION

The law gives you many rights regarding your health information.
You can:

ask us to restrict our uses and disclosures for purposes
of treatment (except emergency treatment), payment or health
care operations. We do not have to agree to do this, but if
we agree, we must honor the restrictions that you want. To ask
for a restriction, send a written request to the office contact
person at the address, fax or E Mail shown at the beginning
of this Notice.

ask us to communicate with you in a confidential way, such
as by phoning you at work rather than at home, by mailing health
information to a different address, or by using E mail to your
personal E Mail address. We will accommodate these requests
if they are reasonable, and if you pay us for any extra cost.
If you want to ask for confidential communications, send a written
request to the office contact person at the address, fax or
E mail shown at the beginning of this Notice.

ask to see or to get photocopies of your health information.
By law, there are a few limited situations in which we can refuse
to permit access or copying. For the most part, however, you
will be able to review or have a copy of your health information
within 30 days of asking us (or sixty days if the information
is stored off-site). You may have to pay for photocopies in
advance. If we deny your request, we will send you a written
explanation, and instructions about how to get an impartial
review of our denial if one is legally available. By law, we
can have one 30 day extension of the time for us to give you
access or photocopies if we send you a written notice of the
extension. If you want to review or get photocopies of your
health information, send a written request to the office contact
person at the address, fax or E mail shown at the beginning
of this Notice.

ask us to amend your health information if you think that
it is incorrect or incomplete. If we agree, we will amend the
information within 60 days from when you ask us. We will send
the corrected information to persons who we know got the wrong
information, and others that you specify. If we do not agree,
you can write a statement of your position, and we will include
it with your health information along with any rebuttal statement
that we may write. Once your statement of position and/or our
rebuttal is included in your health information, we will send
it along whenever we make a permitted disclosure of your health
information. By law, we can have one 30 day extension of time
to consider a request for amendment if we notify you in writing
of the extension. If you want to ask us to amend your health
information, send a written request, including your reasons
for the amendment, to the office contact person at the address,
fax or E mail shown at the beginning of this Notice.

get a list of the disclosures that we have made of your
health information within the past six years (or a shorter period
if you want). By law, the list will not include: disclosures
for purposes of treatment, payment or health care operations;
disclosures with your authorization; incidental disclosures;
disclosures required by law; and some other limited disclosures.
You are entitled to one such list per year without charge. If
you want more frequent lists, you will have to pay for them
in advance. We will usually respond to your request within 60
days of receiving it, but by law we can have one 30 day extension
of time if we notify you of the extension in writing. If you
want a list, send a written request to the office contact person
at the address, fax or E mail shown at the beginning of this
Notice.

get additional paper copies of this Notice of Privacy Practices
upon request. It does not matter whether you got one electronically
or in paper form already. If you want additional paper copies,
send a written request to the office contact person at the address,
fax or E mail shown at the beginning of this Notice.

OUR NOTICE OF PRIVACY PRACTICES

By law, we must abide by the terms of this Notice of Privacy
Practices until we choose to change it. We reserve the right to
change this notice at any time as allowed by law. If we change this
Notice, the new privacy practices will apply to your health information
that we already have as well as to such information that we may
generate in the future. If we change our Notice of Privacy Practices,
we will post the new notice in our office, have copies available
in our office, and post it on our Web site.

COMPLAINTS

If you think that we have not properly respected the privacy
of your health information, you are free to complain to us or the
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office for Civil Rights.
We will not retaliate against you if you make a complaint. If you
want to complain to us, send a written complaint to the office contact
person at the address, fax or E mail shown at the beginning of this
Notice. If you prefer, you can discuss your complaint in person
or by phone.

FOR MORE INFORMATION

If you want more information about our privacy practices, call
or visit the office contact person at the address or phone number
shown at the beginning of this Notice.

COMPLIMENTARY LASIK EVALUATION

We will review the risks and benefits of Lasik
and answer all your questions completely. We find that only 15 to
20 percent of patients are not Lasik candidates. Some of these may
be candidates for other laser vision correction procedures, such
as PRK.

AcrySof® ReSTOR® Intraocular Lens

The
AcrySof® ReSTOR® Intraocular Lens (IOL) is uniquely designed to
improve your vision at most distances. Dr. Antonio Prado is proficient
at ensuring that your cataract surgery, featuring ReSTOR IOL insertion,
will be safe, effective and painless. Combining the revolutionary
refraction characteristics of the ReSTOR lens, and the exceptional
experience and care of Dr. Prado, your Cataract Surgery and outcome
will be unsurpassed.

Antonio Prado is the head ophthalmologist and laser eye surgeon of
Tampa, Florida's Prado Vision and Lasik Center. Our center is comprised
of the top ophthalmologists, optometrists, and refractive surgeons in
Tampa, and we strive to provide excellence in all areas of eye care,
including Lasik, cataract surgery, contact lenses, glasses, and
more.